


Say the words

by MissWar



Series: Partners [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: 3 words, F/F, F/M, I Love You, In Love, Jean/Marco - Freeform, M/M, Multi, POV Jean Kirstein, Sequel, Vacation, partners, say the words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-21
Updated: 2015-03-22
Packaged: 2018-02-18 05:26:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2336816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissWar/pseuds/MissWar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean makes two promises to himself. The first is to admit that he loves Marco Bodt to himself by Christmas. The Second, is to say these words to Marco himself by the end of the winter brake.<br/>(Sequel to 'Partners' )</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thanksgiving brake

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to the story 'Partners'. Hope you enjoy it. This story, unlike partners, that switched point of views, will be mainly told from Jeans side.

**From : Marco: I miss you.**

**To : Marco : I miss you too... This situation sucks.**

**From : Marco : I wish you could have come with us...**

**To : Marco : Same. I've seen my mom once, that was yesterday for like 5 min to tell me family’s coming over today.**

**From : Marco : That's good! You'll get to see the rest of your family at least!**

**To : Marco : Not good. They're all rich homophobic jack-asses**

**From : Marco : Okay, not good... Well... My family misses you, my mom keeps asking about you, dad keeps asking where his other son is, the twins keep asking when your gonna come, and the rest of my family is asking rapid fire questions about you.**

**To : Marco : At least I have one family that loves me**

**From : Marco : What about the dads Reiner and Bert? Or wonderful aunt Hanji, and uncles Levi and Erwin.**

**To : Marco : Dads are at their parents house, getting drunk probably. Hanji disappeared to go see her own family. Levi and Erwin have already made promises to barge in and save me today.**

**From : Marco : I meant that they love you to, but thanks for the update.**

**From : Mom B : Is Marco texting you?**

**To : Mom B : Yeah.**

**From : Mom B : That liar.**

**From : Marco : How does my mom have your number?**

**To : Mom B : What's he done now?**

**To : Marco : I gave it to her.**

**From : Marco : Ugh.  Does my dad have yours too?**

**To : Marco : Yup. I'm also in the twins emergency contact at the day care~**

**From : Marco : Wtf.**

**From : Mom B : Happy Thanksgiving, Jean! We miss you over here, can't wait to see you.**

**To : Marco : <3 **

**To : Mom B : I miss you guys too, and I'd be with you all if I could.**

**From : Marco : Whatever, you're forgiven. I miss you.**

**From : Mom B : We know sweetie, but we’ll see you soon enough. Goodnight, Jean.**

**To : Marco : I miss you too, can't wait to see you again.**

**To : Mom B : Night, Mom.**

**From : Marco :  I’ll talk to you tomorrow?**

**To : Marco : Of course.**

 

**\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**From : Marco : Two more days.**

**To : Marco : Only two more days...**

**From : Marco : I really do miss you...**

**To : Marco : I know, and I miss you too.**

**From : Marco : I can't wait 'till I get back.**

**To : Marco : I'm still coming over when you get back, right?**

**From : Marco : Of course.**

**To : Marco : Good.**

**From : Marco : How’d the family event go?**

**To : Marco : It sucked but it was so funny when my aunt asked me if I had a girlfriend, and I looked her dead in the eye and said 'I don't think my boyfriend would like that very much so no’ She had to leave the room for like, twenty minutes.**

**From : Marco : Beautiful. What about Levi and Erwin's arrival?**

**To : Marco : They completely crashed the party, it was great. They came in, acting completely normal, and professional, and after half an hour, when all my family was swooning over them, they started making out on the couch. My aunt left, she had to leave the room for an hour this time and didn't talk the rest of the night.**

**From : Marco : Oh my. What about Hanji?**

**To : Marco : Hanji scared the living shit out of so many people with her facts about the human body. It was great.**

**From : Marco : Sounds like quite the evening, too bad I missed it. We could have made-out on your aunt's car.**

**To : Marco : See, this is why I like you.**

**To : Marco : Also, don't worry, that's what Christmas is for.**

**From : Marco : It's a plan.**

 

**\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**To : Marco : One more day.**

**From : Marco : One more day.**

**To : Marco : I’ll be waiting.**

**From : Marco : I’ll be sure to be back as soon as I possibly can.**

**To : Marco : Bring me food?**

**From : Marco : Beat you to it. I'm bringing you back some of my grandma's homemade beef jerky.**

**To : Marco : Fuck to the yes.**

**From : Marco : You're welcome**

**To : Marco : Thank you, babe.**

**From : Marco : There you go.**

**To : Marco : Yeah.**

**From : Marco : Hey Jean?**

**To : Marco : Yeah?**

**From : Marco : I miss you.**

**To : Marco : I miss you too... Cant wait to see you tomorrow...**

**From : Marco : I’ll be counting the hours.**

**To : Marco : And I’ll count the minutes...**

 

**\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**From : Marco : On our way home.**

**From : Marco : Sorry, I know it's early.**

**To : Marco : Nonsense, its never to early to talk to you.**

**From : Marco : Good.**

**To : Marco : How far away are you?**

**From : Marco : About an hour, we stopped for breakfast.**

**To : Marco : Alright, I’ll meet you at your house then.**

**From : Marco : Jean, it's five in the morning.**

**To : Marco : You think I give a shit? I miss you, and I haven't seen you in a week.**

**From : Marco : I miss you too... I’ll see you in an hour then...**

**To : Marco : I’ll see you in an hour.**

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

        Our entire Thanksgiving break went like this. Marco went to visit his family, like they apparently do every year. I was invited to go too, and I would have loved to, however, my mom said no, that I need to stay home and entertain the family 'till she gets off work on Thanksgiving day. I hated almost every minute of it. Thankfully, Erwin, Levi, and Hanji busted in and made the whole thing worth it. I’ve been texting Marco, and his parents everyday. I missed him so much it was ridiculous, but it was okay once I was aware that he felt the same way. We survived though. I pulled in a minute after they did, and the second I saw Marco again, I was being held tight in his arms. I helped his family unpack, and then we immediately made our way to his room. Now we just were lying here in his bed, in silence. He holds me tight in his arms, my head on his shoulder. Occasionally he will smile down at me, and we’ll kiss, but it's mostly just him holding me tightly in his arms. I'm always so happy, and so content when I'm in his arms like this. I really have missed him. Being away from him like that, for that week that made each day feel like a month, well it makes me realize just how dependent I am on him. I really do like him, so much more than I can express. I’ll tell him one day though. One of these day, I'll tell Marco exactly what, and how much he means to me. I'm just going to need a little time to figure out how to tell myself before I tell Marco...

 


	2. Plans for winter brake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean says a bit about the plans for winter brake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a sequel to my story 'Partners' , unlike in that story, that has a tendency to switch pov's every other chapter, this story will be dominated by Jeans view point. Enjoy the chapter.

  I've had several weeks to think, but I'm still drawing blanks. I still can't bring myself to admit it. I mean, I haven't actually had much time to think about it though, you know, with finals and everything. Finals were really stressful, this being my senior year and all, but we trudged through it. Marco and I met up at least once a week to study together, and help each other as much as possible. Then on the weekends I would stay at his house, so that we could catch up. Thanks to study sessions with Marco though, I passed my Math final with a B+, and thanks to me, he passed his French final with an A- as well. Great thing is our weaknesses just so happen to be the other's strong point. I'm really bad at math, thankfully though, Marco is really good at it. Marco's pretty bad at French, but lucky for him, I'm fluent. Both of us managed to pass all of are finals with decent grades. Now its officially the start of winter break. Three and a half weeks of no school. We have a pretty busy break ahead of us too. This weekend is Erwin and Levi's wedding. Marco and I are expected to attend. As guests, and good friends of the soon-to-be-married couple, but I'm also supposed to paint their wedding ceremony. I'm supposed to go a bit early so that I can get the scenery sketched and painted in, that way I can easily sketch in, and paint, the couple. Marco is obviously my date. Then after that, Marco is going with my mom and I to my grandfather's house for Christmas, and he’ll be meeting the rest of my family there too. It's only for two nights, but its certainly going to be an eventful two nights, that's for sure, with my aunt and most of my family being homophobic and all. Then, once we get back, it'll actually be the twenty third, so I'm going to be with the Bodts for Christmas,and that's a school-week long thing. Christmas eve, Christmas day, and then we stay three more days before we leave. Then New Years is a few days after we get back, and Reiner is throwing this huge party for that.  From then on, it's just freedom, you know, things we’ll plan when we get there. 

        Right now, I'm in Marcos lap, my head on his shoulder as we watch Harry Potter with the twins. We're actually at my house today, the kids just wanted to see my house again, and they wanted to play with my puppies again, so we said okay. The dogs are laying at the edge of the couch, just below us. Fast asleep after the hours of play time they got today. 

Despite the busy schedule we have made out for us these next three and a half weeks, well there are two main things that are going to make it chaotic in my mind. What I'm going to get Marco for Christmas is the first one. I honestly don't want to get him anything simple. It's our first Christmas together, and I really want to get him something special, something he will really, really love. However, I don't have a clue as for what to get him yet, and I'm afraid of running out of time. I'm going to have to go to the others for advice, maybe they can push me in the right direction. Whatever I get him, I want it to come from the heart, I want it to mean something. I also have everyone else, including his family to get gifts for, but that's nowhere  _near_  as important, or as difficult as it is to shop for Marco. The second thing, well the second thing is those three words. Those three words that I definitely know I feel, there is no doubt about it. I'm just having allot of trouble saying the words themselves. I feel them, I really do. I know Marco feels it too, I can see it in his eyes all the time. He feels the same way, he just to afraid to tell me because he’s afraid of rejection. Then there's me who's to afraid to even admit it to himself for reasons I can't even figure out. All I want, my one true goal during this break, is to say it to myself. I need to admit to myself those three words before I can do anything, I want to say them to myself by Christmas, that's goal one. Goal two, is to say those three, simple words, out loud, to Marco, by the end of our winter break. I’ll do it. I swear I'll do it. It's not going to be easy, and I know that. My brain is pretty stupid, and likes to ignore my heart, but I swear I will by the end of winter break have admitted to both myself, and to Marco, just how much he means to me, and how much I like him. I have never been all that good with words, but I'll do anything for Marco. As long as it makes him happy, as long as it means he'll continue to be with me, I’ll force myself to say it if I feel like I can't. I can feel it, I know how badly he wants to hear the words, and I know he sees me avoiding the words. I know he's waiting for me to say them, and I'm so sorry for making him wait. I really am worried that if I don't say it, he’ll get tired of waiting, and move on... I know that's not like him, not at all, but people worry, it's human nature to worry. I need to tell him how I really feel. I _want_  to tell him how I really feel. I will tell him exactly how I feel, by the end of the break, I  _will_  do it... I have to... Because he deserves to know that he has me wrapped around his little finger. He deserves to know how hard he has me falling for him, how badly I've already fallen. Marco deserves to know what he wants to know, and what he wants to know is that he is in complete, and total control of my heart. He’s my entire world, and I think he deserves to know that... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like it so far. Dont be afraid to comment.


	3. Soon, but not today..

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First up on the winter calendar, Levi and Erwin's Wedding! Dancing? Dancing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know i've been gone for a few months now, and im so sorry. I got really busy, and my internet shut off. But its back! I have tons of chapters to upload for you guys. I also now have a Tumblr and a Twitter that you guys can follow, and it will have plenty of updates. Things like sneak previews, updates, heads ups, ideas, plenty of stuff like that, or you could message or tweet me with comments, ideas, suggestions, comments maybe even art that you might have?. So check them out if you want.  
> Twitter is @BmaybeB  
> Tumblr is 3wordstopartners
> 
> Hope you guys are ready for plenty of chapters these next few days! Glad to be back!

   “Wow.... its beautiful..” Marco whispers as i finish up my painting. For the last hour Marco has been observing the scenery, absolutely fascinated by all the pretty flowers Were at Erwin and Levis wedding. With another Half hour till someone gets here at that. The ceremony is being held in a large garden. Theres several rows of white plastic chairs laid out in the grass, the Isle in between is sprinkled with all sorts of colorful flower pedals. There’s a small, single step black platform with a metal arch over it at the end of the isle. The arch is decorated with vines, and All sorts of flowers. Behind, and on both sides of the alter, are large roses bushes with bright red roses in perfect bloom. It really is magnificent, and i just spent the last hour carefully painting it in great detail. Now all i need to do is paint in Erwin ad Levi while they exchange vows.

    Behind Marco and I, which is the very last row of chairs, and off to the side, are about four long white tables with grey table clothes, sprawled out with food. On the very last table, of course, is the wedding cake. A large three layered white wedding cake decorated with black frosting swirls, and red chocolate hearts. The very top has there names written in fancy cursive, in the center of a heart. The same table is covered in several black vases, filled with newly bloomed, gorgeous flowers of all types and colors. The whole display is wonderful, and considering we have another half an hour before any actual guests arrive, i decide to do a quick painting of it while Marco buzzes around taking pictures on his camera.

   Its adorable how awe-struck he is at the display, and the flowers, and how simply beautiful it is. Note to self, Marco likes this kind of stuff. That’s definitely helpful information. I mean, just look at him, Running around, admiring each flower like a little kid in a toy shop. Ho could i not admire him like this. His dark brown eyes seem bright, and i swear, his freckles glow whenever he’s happy like this, they look like constellations , which is sort of fitting, considering Marco’s my entire universe...

   Oh my god that was some cheesy ass cliche bullshit, yet it was true at the same time. I am such a sap. I guess its not a bad thing. If i told that to Marco, He’d probably swoon, then hit me for being cheesy. If anyone else heard that thought, they’d laugh at me for all eternity, id never live it down.

   “Jean! Marco!” The first of the guests to Arrive is Hanji. She smiles happily as she greets us. We engage in some small talk slightly, before her and Marco get into this really indept conversation about flowers and i decide to toon them out. Normally, i’d think its really weird to cashually talk to teachers like this out side of school, but then again. I am at my Principles wedding.. in order to paint it.. I never really thought to much about how weird it was that I was so close to so many of my schools teachers on more personal levels. Erwin, Levi, Hanji. I am even on friendly terms with a few other teachers to, but thats enough of those thoughts, Erwin just walked out looking all nice and snazzy, and allot of other guests arrived as well, most of which seem to be teachers, Like Petra, and Hannes, even Mr. Pixis is here i think.

   “Jean! Glad your here. I cant wait to see your paintings.” Erwin greets me, at first he shakes my hand, but then he pulls me into a strong hug, which i take best to return. Erwin certainly looks happy. His hair is all combed out nicely, His eyes are shining with delight. His tux is the classic black tux, but he’s got his signature tie on though. Im actually kind of glad he is, even if it looks a bit out of place, i just dont think he would be him without it.

   “Good to see yah, and i sure hope you are, main ones s’almost done, just missing the most important feature.” I nod, standing back, placing my hands in my slack pockets. Yes, i am wearing the suit, and im not happy about it. The only bright side to the suit thing is Marco is wearing a suit to, And that is something no sane person would complain about. Just, dang. “I am sure its fantastic, and Levi will love it.” I smile, you can tell, just by the way he says his soon-to-be husbands name, that he loves the man with all his heart. Do i say Marcos name like that? Does Marco say my name like that? “Excited, man?” I ask, to which the big blonde gives me a nod of his head.

  “Of course. I am Nervous, but its a happy nervous, not a scared nervous. Its hard to explain, but im sure you’ll start knowing that feeling very soon.” He says, gently taping my rips with his elbow, looking of to the side. I follow his line of vision, to see Marco starting to walk away from Hanji and the food, and over to us. Oh my god. Erwin. You did not just suggest what i think you did.

  “Hi Erwin! Excited?” Marco greets as he steps up to us, hugging Erwin just as i had been hugged. “You bet. Now, if you’ll excuse me, i’ve got to greet the rest of the guests.” With that, Erwin starts to leave.

 

    “You know, its really nice that they invited you, and even hired you to paint there vows.” Marco sits down in one of the plastic chairs, and i sit beside him. “I would have done it without the pay..” I admit, smiling as i look around the garden. Erwin’s currently chatting up Hanji in the large grass area cleared for the DJ and the dance floor. He looks so happy, knowing today, his and Levis love would be official to be able to rub it in the face of others, as Levi s kindly put it once.

   “You may not seem to like your real family very much, but you definitely love these guys, and Hanji, and the gang to..” Marco adds, looking in the same direction, i can feel his eyes examining me. I nod my head slightly to agree with him.

   “My family is a bunch of judgmental, homo-phobic assholes. The only Family i need is fake dads Reiner and Bert, real dads Levi and Erwin, You and your family is a definite need, sometimes my mom, and the rest of are friends, cause god forbid i live a life without Sasha spending all my money on food, and Yeager making my life hell.” I laugh a bit, turning my head to smile at Marco. His cheeks are bright pink, making his freckles blend into the red, and and i cant help but shake my head at it. Why is he so fuckn cute? No one should be allowed to be so cute. I lean over slightly, and lightly kiss his cheek, Making his blush burn even hotter.

 

 

      “You may kiss your husband.” Eventually, Levi came out, in a nice black tuxedo, his normal scowl, was a slight smile, and he walked down the isle rather casually, holding a small bundle of red roses. They said their vows, the preacher guiding it along, while they smiled at each other, looking happily into the others eyes. I could have sworn they were both glowing, then they sealed the whole thing with a kiss, and the party continues on.

   I cant help but wonder threw out the entire time, as i painted the two in, do i look at Marco like that? Does he look at me like that? Would i be able to, would i want to stand up there, just like they are, and commit myself to Marco like that? I decided im to young to even consider such a thing, but somewhere, far in the future, i surely would, and if that wasnt a step closer to saying those words, i dont know what is.

   

    “Jean, dance with me?” Marco asks sweetly, holding his hand out to me. I finished up the painting. The cake was cute, and eaten, and everyone was dancing. It does not surprise me that the DJ is playing Elvis Presley, Erwin loves Elvis, and so do i. Love me Tender is playing right now, and i may not dance, but 1. Marco 2. Elvis 3. Marco, so i place my hand in his, and let him lead me.

   I didnt even know Marco could dance, hell, i didnt even think we would dance here, it wasnt an option in my head, but i guess i underestimated him. As we dance slowly through several Romantic songs, Marco guides me along, Smiling happily, and often, kissing me softly on the lips, cheek, or forehead.. Its times like these that make it unbelievable that Marco is officially mine, and im his. It’s hard to believe that someone as perfect as him, is with someone like, well, someone like me. I mean, come on, i am a fucking asshole, no doubt about it, yet he’s with me. It’s like a fairy tale, one i dont deserve. That makes it harder for me to try to admit that.... to admit those words.. but at the same time, it’s stuff like this that really make me want to admit to it... One day, i will, but today, when we are peacefully dancing like this, living freely in are own little world for such a short time, well, i dont want to ruin it, It’s not the time or the place. I’ll do it soon, just.. just not quite yet...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know i've been gone for a few months now, and im so sorry. I got really busy, and my internet shut off. But its back! I have tons of chapters to upload for you guys. I also now have a Tumblr and a Twitter that you guys can follow, and it will have plenty of updates. Things like sneak previews, updates, heads ups, ideas, plenty of stuff like that, or you could message or tweet me with comments, ideas, suggestions, comments maybe even art that you might have?. So check them out if you want.  
> Twitter is @BmaybeB  
> Tumblr is 3wordstopartners
> 
> Hope you guys are ready for plenty of chapters these next few days! Glad to be back!


	4. just a lil planning before the big event.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is just a little chapter leading up to the family event.

  “Hey, whats up?” I answer my phone, and put on speaker so that i can continue on with folding my Clothes, and shoving them in my suitcase.

  “Hey, how many outfits do i need to bring? Is it cold at your Grandfathers? Should i dress nice? Or casual?” Marco rushes out the second he has the freedom to talk, and I cant help but chuckle. This is the third time that I’ve had to tell him. He really is taking this far to seriously.

  “Marco breath. You need the outfit you will wear there. Which should be casual since no one will really be there yet. You need Pajamas to last both nights. An outfit for the next day, something that is a bit formal, and ‘In the Christmas spirit’. Dress warm to, but not to warm, there will be a fire place. Then you need clothes for the next day, that we will be returning in. Its a little colder up there, keep that in mind. That all?” I hear him sigh on the other end. That’s a yes.

  “Thank you, Jean! I’ll see you in the morning! Good night!” With that, he hangs up, probably to go and frantically assemble his suitcase, and i go back to getting ready myself.

 

 

* * *

  “Good morning!” Marco greets my mom and I as he enters my house the next morning, black suitcase in hand. He looks absolutely adorable in a light grey, baggy sweater, black jeans and boots. My mom smiles at him kindly. Yes, my mom obviously is aware of Marco and I’s relationship. She’s totally cool with it.

   “Good morning, You guys have plans to make out on Aunt Amanda’s car?” My mom jokes. I cant help but laugh. You know, my mom may not be around that much, but i certainly love it when she is home.. “Alright, Kiddos, lets get going.” My mother instructs, picking up her light blue luggage cases, and heading for the door. I grab my own Red suitcase, and Marco picks up his again as we follow after her. Once all are bags are in the back of my moms truck, my mom locks the house up, knowing the dogs are safe at Aunt Hanji’s house.

 “Mom wheres the plug?” I ask, sliding into the middle seat, in between My mom, whose driving, and Marco."Your gonna DJ for us?” She asks sarcastically, though she knew this was coming. My mom is a petite, Blonde, green eyed French women who looks like an innocent angel, but she’s where i get my personality from. Meaning she is also a smug, sarcastic asshole.

  “Duh. Hand over the cord.” She rolls her eyes, but hooks my phone up to the trucks speakers so that i can play music. My mom shuts her car door, and so does Marco, once he’s all buckled in. The car starts up, and were pulling out of the driveway. Instantly I play ‘Jolene’ by Dolly Parton. If theres one thing cool about my mom, it’s her taste in music. She loves Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Simon and Garfunkel. Artists like that, so of course, me and her sing along to every song I play. Occasionally Marco sing to. Like he sings to a few Elvis songs, and a couple of others to. My music tastes have rubbed of on him.

  “Im tired..” I mumble after a good half an hour into the ride, and lean against Marco in order to rest. He smiles, and wraps his arms around me best he can while still being comfortable, then kisses my head.

  “Awwwww, look how cute you two are.” My mom teases us, making both of are faces heat up. “Mom..” I whine out in embarrassment. She just grins, looking on forward as she drives, laughing happily at herself.

  “Hey, im just glad I have something to shove in your aunts face. ‘My kids boyfriend is cuter then your kid’s boyfriend.” I cant help but laugh at that, neither can Marco. “Mom, seriously?” I chuckles, and she grins at me a bit from the side. “What? Have you seen your cousin Ashley’s boyfriend? He’s busted, not to mention he’s a capital D.” Why can’t my mom be home more often? I almost forgot how cool she is at times.

  “And your Aunt is going to throw such a fit, it’l be hilarious. Your grandparents wont care, hell, they’ll be all over you, Marco. Everyone else is going to shit themselves. I so look forward to Tomorrow. Oh, can we surprise them. Like, Marco not come out till after they’re all there, and in love with the idea of Marco. Kinda like what your friends Erwin and Levi did? Or is that over-kill?” My mom goes on and on about the family, and how awkward and fun tomorrows celebration is going to be. God, my mom is absolutely diabolical, i swear. I love it. Marco and I are totally down for her evil plans, we just need to figure out which one we want to go with... I guess we’ll have to pick one later, because we just pulled up to my grand-fathers house. Oh, let the horrors of family commence!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a little chapter leading up to the family event. Hoped you liked it. Dobt be afraid to comment, follow me on Tumblr or Twitter for frequent updates.


	5. He is not a She

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas with Jeans family. Short chapter, I know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I have a new story out! It's another JeanMarco Highschool Au, It's called 'I love you Because' check it out you get the chance! Thank you

  My mom was right in every sense. My grandparents are all over Marco. Asking him all sorts of questions, smiling and telling him story’s and complimenting him and they completely love him already. Marco happily answered all their questions, and listening to all their story’s with a spark of curiosity in his eyes, and he laughs and chats along with them casually. My grandparents hardly even know Mom and I are there.

  “Your so sweet, Marco. The family is going to love you!” My grandmother sings, after dinner, sipping at her tea. Mom and I look at each other.

 _Should we tell them to keep the gender a secret?_ Mom’s ember eyes burn into mine, and I nod my head slightly with a grin on my face.

 _It’ll make tomorrow so much more fun_. I mentally confirm her idea, and she nods her own head in agreement, and looks across the room at her parents. In the small living light blue living room of my grandparents house, there are two grey arm chairs on one side, and a long, grey couch on the other. Marco, Mom and I sit on the couch, me in the middle of the two, as I comfortably lean against Marco.

  “Mom, Papa, would you mind leaving Marco’s Gender out of topic tomorrow until they meet him. Their a little worried of the family’s reaction.” My mom reaches a hand over, and tosses my hair around, and I playfully scowl out her, making her laugh. I don’t give a shit about what the family thinks, and neither does she. We just want to mess with them.

  “Huh? Oh, yes of course.” My grandfather responds, though it looks like it takes them a second to realize what’s wrong with Marcos gender. That’s why I love them. My grandparents have never cared about same sex relation ships, like they approve of them, but it’s not something they really think of? Like a gay couple to them is just another couple to them, It honestly doesn’t phase them. I never understood how they could be so excepting while.. well while there’s my aunt and everyone else..

  “Speaking over tomorrow, I think it’s about time it comes. How about we go out separate ways for bed?”

 

* * *

 

   “More like an Angel! Nicest Kid I have ever met.” Mom tells her sister, when she says “Jeans’ girlfriend sounds really nice”, for the last half an hour, we have been bragging about Marco, casually leaving out any pronouns that would give away Marco’s gender, the hardest part would be his name. People keep asking what ‘her’ name is, each time we would some how switch the conversation without it being suspicious, or we muffle out the sound with a cough, or a drink or food and so all they really here is ‘M-’.

  “She sounds wonderful, I can’t wait to meet her! Where is she, again?” My aunt sings, fixing her light blonde hair a bit. The easiest part about this whole situation is how they automatically assume who ever it is I am dating, is a girl. Hetero-normality can be really be annoying, but right now, It’s actually working in my favor. “Accidently woke up a bit late, probably taking a shower.” I shrug my shoulders, and my mom adds into the conversation.

  "Takes us allot longer to get ready, Jean get’s ready in five minutes though.” She says, and my aunt nods in thoughtful agreement. My grandparents have been talking to, bragging and doting about Marco all morning, without giving hit to the fact that he’s not a she, but the way they talk about him, I think he’s their new favorite and not me.

  “Oh there you are! Marco! Come on down, Every one’s been dyeing to meet you!” My mom smiles, looking past me at the staircase. Marco stands there, hair still a little wet, and a nervous blush on his face to match his smile. He’s wearing plain blue jeans, and fuzzy red socks, but the best part is the goofy looking dark red Christmas sweater my mom gave him. When she said she got him a sweater, she didn’t tell me it was decorated with Mistletoe with 'All mistle toe kisses reserved for my boyfriend’ written under it in fancy green cursive. Oh my god mom.

  “Mom, do I really have to wear the sweater?” He mumbles nervously, stepping down the stairs, and straight to my mom and I. Hold the phone. Did he just call her mom? Okay. I know she went up there to give him the sweater and talk to him a little before the others showed up, but what exactly did she tell him?

  “Oh but sweetheart, It looks so cute! I thought you liked it?” By now, all eyes in the room are pointed towards the three of us, every single set of eyes filled with shock, except for the grandparents, they’re smiling just like my mother.

“She’s right Marco! It’s such a cute sweater.” My Grandmother chides in. Where the fuck did my mother even get that sweater. When the fuck did she even find time to track it down and buy it? She really wanted to rub this in the family’s face huh? “It is a cute sweater.. Just a little embarrassing..” Marco admits, the tips of his ears and his cheeks burning. Everyone is still silent, and my mom glances at me.

 _Say something,débile_. She mentally scolds me, Mom just called me an idiot, how nice. I stand up, and gently place my hand in Marco’s.

  “Its a stupid sweater, but I won’t argue. Everything looks cute on you..” I look him straight in the eyes, and he looks at me like a fish out of water, completely flustered. Like that, that look will only ever be cute on Marco. I lean in close, and lightly kiss his lips, before letting go of his hand.

  “Im gonna get another drink. Mom can introduce you.” I leave him alone with my family to slip away, around the corner, and into the kitchen. There is talking again, though I can’t really understand anything that is being said. Way to go, if there’s one way to make it an awkward family Christmas, this is it. Hmmm What to drink? Another cup of coffee sounds good, and I’ll just make one for Marco to.

  “Mom told me to come get my own drink, but it looks like you beat me to it.” Marco enters the kitchen, and greets me by wrapping his arms around my waist. My instant reaction is to sigh, and relax back against him. “Coffee okay?” I ask, pouring two mugs full, leaving enough space for creamer and sugar. Marco likes his loaded with crap, Creamer, sugar, and milk. I myself just go for a little creamer and sugar. “Perfect.” He nods his head against mine as I prepare the drinks, following my body whenever I move. From here, I can here my mom still talking.

  “So, since when did you start calling her mom?” I turn in Marco’s arms, and hand him his coffee as I take a sip of my own. He chuckles a bit, obviously feeling a little embarrassed. “This morning when she brought up the sweater. She said to do four things. Call her mom. Call your grandparents like they were my own, be as nice as I can, and Love on you as often as possible.” He admits, tugging at the hem of his sweater a bit, awkwardly.

   “Jean, Marco. Were gonna start opening presents.” My grandfather walks into the kitchen, and pours himself yet another cup of coffee, adding only the slightest bit of creamer to it.

  “Okay, Thank you.” Marco says, taking hold of my hand in his, and leading me back out there with another gulp of his coffee.

 

  Marco, Mom and I get the couch, just like last night. Im curled into Marco’s side, cup of coffee in my hand, while he holds his own, setting it on his knee, while the other arm wraps around me, holding me close. My mom sits on the other side, Smiling at the two of us. The room is back to normal, sort of, every one is trying to act as if Marco and I arn’t there, looking any where but.

  It’s sort of funny how they all loved the idea of him, but the second a guy came down the stairs instead of a girl, everything changed. It’s ridiculous. Marco and I are among the only under aged people, besides us there is my two cousins, twelve year old Eve, and and seven year old Vincent, both are complete demon children. Well, Eve can be a sweet little girl when she wants to be, but the second she doesn’t get what she wants, the horns come out.

   “Jean, This ones yours, and this is for you Marco. Both are from me.” My mom is the one to give out presents, she hands both Marco and I small green envelopes.We open them together as my mom buzzes around handing out gifts for other people. Inside mine is a gift cart to the movie theater and a note that says “ _Dates on me_.” Marco’s a gift card to a steak house, his note says “T _wo dates? Or one extra fancy date?_ ” I chuckle a little bit, and smile at my mom when she passes by us again.

  “Thank you” Marco and I say in unison. “Jinx. You owe me soda.” Marco grins proudly, and I roll my eyes. What a dork, my dork that is.. “It’s a date then..” I reach up to kiss his cheek, and his face turns pink. He’s adorable. He reacts to my peck with a small kiss on the lips, which I return, pulling myself ever so slightly into his lap, almost spilling his coffee. I pull away, and lean my head on his shoulder.

  More presents go around, I got a couple more gift cards, Marco and I got soft fleece blankets from Grandma and Grandpa. Mine is red, his is green. Most of the family didn’t get Marco anything because they did not know he was gonna be here till they got here. Grandparents knew ahead of time, and of course mom knew, but that’s about it. My mom also got Marco a Gift card to a book store, and she got me an Ebay gift card, knowing about my love for online shopping. That’s about it though.

  “Jean? I thought you got something for, Marco?” My mom asks me, noting that Marco has yet to receive that particular present. “We decided we’d save presents for each other till it’s actually Christmas day.” She nods her head, in an understanding way. “Okay. I thought maybe they got lost, that’s good then, that stuff was expensive.” Marco looks at me with an eyebrow raised, now incredibly curious as to just what it is I got him, I shake my head, and lightly kiss him.

  “Im not telling you. Your just gonna have to wait.” He huffs, in pulls me in for another kiss, this one is longer and sweeter. I wonder if this is part of what my mom told him about loving on me as much as possible, or if he’s doing this on his own.

  “Whatever.. Your the only present I need for Christmas..” Oh my god. That’s so horribly fucking cheesy, I can’t help but laugh at him, and I can’t help but laugh even more when my aunt promptly sands up, and walks outside, and doesn’t come back in for another fifteen minutes.

 

* * *

 

  “Now, are you ready to meet my family?” Marco asks later that night, once everyone is gone, and it is only my grandparents, Mom, Marco and I. I look away from him, and bite my lip, nodding my head a bit. I forgot about that. I am spending actual Christmas day with Marco and his family. I mean, His parents and Siblings, well they love me, and I do consider them Family. Meeting the rest of the family is a little nerve racking though, because I do want them to like me.. Im sure I’ll be fine though.. As long as he is there with me, I’ll be fine.. Besides, they can’t be anything like my family, and that’s more then enough for me to find it safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I have a new story out! It's another JeanMarco Highschool Au, It's called 'I love you Because' check it out you get the chance! Thank you  
> Hoped you liked this little chapter. Feel free to comment.


	6. From one family, to Another

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving on over to the Bodt family, starting with Marco's parents and siblings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, hope you like the chapter! Sorry it's way overdue, but its here now!

  “Theres my boy!” It feels as though the second I leave my own mothers embrace, I am quickly enveloped by Marco’s mothers own tight hug, when in reality, it’s been a good few hours. I respond of course, allowing my thin arms to squeeze her back. Her wild brown hair suffocating my face. I would be lying if I said I didn’t love the Bodts. They treat me like family, more so then my own family does. It’s nice. I mean, I love my mom and all, She’s great, but sometimes, I forget that, considering she’s never home. My grandparents are cool, nice, but I don’t get to see them often. But then, there’s the Bodts. They love me, and they take care of me like Im their own, they’ve even taken to calling me their son, and I occasionally call them my parents.

  “Hi..” I squeak out once Im released from Mrs.Bodts grip, but almost immediately after, I am engulfed by Mr.Bodt. Mr.Bodt, aka, Dad is obviously were Marco gets his build. Tall, well built, with large, wide shoulders, or as I like to call it, the fire fighter build.

  “Hi M- _Dad_.” I have to correct myself, and try my best not to call him by his name, or by Mr.Bodt, they like it better when I simply call them my parents. It was a tiny bit weird at first, but I am getting used to it now, I just need practice, that’s all.

  “Jean!” The next hug comes from Marco’s three younger siblings, the demon twins, and the quite reader of the family. I used to think being an only child completely sucked, now I know it has it’s benefits.

  “Ready to meet the rest of the Bodts, Jean?” Marco’s mom asks, tossing an arm around my shoulder, as her husband returns to packing the car filled with luggage. I just got down with one road trip, and now I have to start another.. At least this one has a destination a little more desirable..

 

* * *

 

  “So, How did things go with your family, Jean? What are they like? I still have yet to meet your mother, We’ll change that when we get back though.” Mother-Bodt asks, glancing at me from the mirror. She’s driving, while her husbands sits in the passanger seat, playing the great role of choosing the rode-trip music. Apparently Mr.Bodt isn’t all that great of a driver, especially not for several consecutive hours of driving. He sets his phone down, after settling on a song that I do not recognize, with an upbeat pace, and twists around in his seat.

  “Yeah kid, what’s the other side of the family like?” He questions, raising one dark brown. That’s true, only Marco has met any of my family, not even my mock family of Aunt Hanji, and uncles Erwin and Levi, or even the happy fathers Reiner and Bertl.

  “Well.. My mom’s really nice.. and she really likes Marco.. She’s cool.. just.. her job keeps her really busy. My grandparents are pretty cool to, they seemed to really like Marco as well. The rest of my family is a little.. Judgmental, especially my aunt.. She was not happy, and my mom got a real kick of that.. My mom even got Marco an ‘All mistletoe kisses are reserved for my boyfriend’ shirt. Im not really close with my family.” I shrug towards the end. The mention of Marco’s new sweater got me a smile from the adults, and a giggle from Marco. In the very back seat, all of the little siblings are sound asleep, and sprawled out against each other.

  “Thats a shame, Well, you know you always have our family.” Marcus grins at me, and turns back to his phone to choose a new song. Marco nods his head in agreement, and pulls me closer to him, my head falling into place on his shoulder.

  “Your gonna love my family, I swear.” He kisses the top of my head slightly, his arm holding me tight, then he lays his head against the car window. “What makes you so sure of that?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at him, he glances at me, and grins, sort of like he’s challenging me.

  “ _The food._ ” He chimes at me. The food? Are they all good cooks or something? I love food and all, but that’s not big enough to guarantee me liking someone. Eren Yeager can cook, believe it or not, but he’s still a little shit, now isn’t he?

  “So?” I question, and once again, Mr.Bodt- aka Dad, swivels around to talk to me.

  “Kid, get ready for some of the best food you have ever tasted in your life. Who knows what food will be there, but homemade beef jerky, eggnog, cheesecake and tamales are there every year, and will be there again this year.” Not gonna lie, that stuff sounds pretty fucking good. I do like beef jerky, and cheesecake and tamales. I’ve only had eggnog like once, and it was just store bought and plain, it was okay.

  “There still really cool though, we play allot of games after we open presents, just to up the mood, and so we can spend more time together. They can be allot of fun, and there’s prizes for them, chocolates, cheap Christmas decorations, little things like that. It’s allot of fun, I promise you.” Marco adds on, and both his parents nod their heads to validate this. I nod my own head against his shoulder. It does sound fun, and I really do look forward to meeting his family, but nothing could settle my nerves. I am not all that worried about liking them, but rather, them liking me.

  “You two should try and get some sleep, it’s still a long ride before we get there.” Mrs.Bodt-mom- offers the two of us some sleep, and I don’t know about Marco, but I took it instantly.

 

* * *

 

  “....me, the family will love him..” I am awoken by the sound of dad’s voice as he talks. My eyes flash open momentarily, and I instantly close them again, Im still way to tired, and my eyelids are way to heavy. I nuzzle my head against Marco’s shoulder, and relax myself again, trying to go back to sleep.

  “I _know_ they will.. Just, you can tell how nervous Jean is.. I think he really wants to make a great impression on them..” I perk up at Mrs.Bodts words, but I remain in my half asleep state. They’re talking about me? Is Marco asleep? He must be..

  “He probably does, Marco was nervous about meeting Jeans family, I can imagine the reverse is just as possible. He shouldn’t worry though, I know the family will eat him up instantly.” Marcus reassures his wife. I can feel my Hear pound against my chest. Has my worry really been that obvious? God, I hope not. Let’s hope they just assumed then.

  “Oh definitely. Just look at him. He’s handsom, he’s smart, he’s got a bright future ahead of him, he’s funny and nice. That’ll get him plenty of places in our family, but what will really sell him off to them, is how obvious he is about Marco. Just seeing how much he cares for, and loves him, Oh, they’ll love anyone who makes Marco as happy as this one does.” My heart flips and I shudder a bit. Am I that obvious about that to? That can be a good thing.. I mean.. If it’s that obvious, then Its good because Marco can tell I really do.. care about him.. but on the down side, he’s probably also wondering if it’s so apparent, why the hell havnt I _said_ it yet. Her words have put a little self reminder in me, there’s something I have to do today, something I have to tell myself, for Marco’s sake.

  “Oh, Sweetheart, I think Jean’s cold, turn the heater on, would you. _Aye,_ that boy, He should have worn a sweater, we told him it would be cold up here..” The subject is changed as Mrs.Bodt noticed my involuntary shiver. I can feel my stomach warm up with a happy feeling of content as the heater is turned on through out the car. They care about me, they bicker about me as if they were my actual parents, they actually care about my well being and are there to do so. I was wrong, My nerves can be calmed. Weather the rest of the family likes me or not, I can survive just fine with this part of the family loving me like I was their own. They easily make up for everything mine lacked all these years, and I love them, and am Thankful for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the chapter! Updates will be around every weekend now.


	7. Merry Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Christmas with the bodts!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sorry this is a little late, my computer

“Myra, let him sleep.” I hear Marco whisper harshly to his little sister.

“Awww but we’re almost there..” She whines in response. Did I fall asleep in the car? I guess I did, didn’t I... I groan when I try to open my eyes, and am met with blinding sun light. That definitely informs everyone that I am awake.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty. Welcome to the living. We will be arriving in exactly five minutes and three seconds.” Marco’s dad.. Marcus, teases me from the front see, his face is the first I see in the blinding light, he’s giving me this devious grin, like he knows the secrets of the universe or something. The second thing I see, Is a small, freckled hand pulling at my shirt. Must be one of the twins.. The last thing I see is a freckled neck. Marco’s freckled neck that is, I must have fallen asleep against him, considering his arm is wrapped around my waist, and Im nuzzled into his side. I don’t think Marco would intentionally put me there, I mean like, he wouldn’t do anything I couldn’t consent to, so I probably did it all on my own, and boy am I glad I did cause holly shit nuggets is he warm.

“Morning, Jean.” His voice seems so quite compared to the others who are back to casually talking around me. It’s nice.

“Mmmm... Morning..” I mutter, curling close to him, as much as my seat belt will let me. Which isn’t much. I quietly hum as his hand gently rubs my shoulder in a soothing circular motion.

“Aww. He’s like a kitty.” Myra says, I assume she’s talking about me. Marco chuckles a bit at the suggestion, and continues to rub my upper back. I didn’t really think about it before, but I guess I sort of am like a cat. I mean, come on, what are the natural traits of a cat? Personally, when I think of cats, I think of needy little furballs who will bug the shit out of you for food or for attention, and they are little shits who try and play it cool about loving you, and most cats are either really energetic or really lazy... Yeah.. I can relate to a cat.

“You know, I never was much of a cat person though..” Marco jokes, and I look up at him, trying my best to go with this whole ‘jean’s totes a cat’ thing for the sake of the kids.

“Meow?” I give Marco the saddest look I can possibly muster, and give out my best cat sound. Just about everyone in the car, meaning everyone but me, busts into laughter. Good to know Im funny.

“That was too cute. But I hope you know, We’ll never let you live that down.” Marco’s mom teases me from the front seat, and I can feel my cheeks, and tips of my ears start to burn up. “It was cute... I guess I’ll have to make an exception. I like a cat.” Marco chuckles a bit, lightly kissing my forehead, only making my blush worsen. Damn them. Damn them all.

“I regret everything..”  I mumble, using Marco’s side as a shield to hide my embarrassment, only to make him laugh more. I don’t mind Marco’s laughter. His laugh is fucking delightful, it’s just a tad bit embarrassing is all.

“Too late now boy. Now come on, Kitty. Were here.” Marcus jokes, he’s out of the car the second its parked, and he’s doing weird stretches in the lawn to try and get his legs awake again after being in the car for so long.

“Please don’t let that be my nickname...” I mutter the prayer quietly to myself. I will die if they call me that from now on.

“Mom! Come on! Hurry up!” Mason, demon twin number one, starts yanking on mom’s arm while trying to rush off towards the door. Woah there, someone’s in a hurry.

“Mason! Let go of my arm, and grab your backpack. We can go in once we’ve got our luggage out of the car.” I am the last one out of the car, because I didn’t want to remove myself from  Marco, I really just want to go back to sleep. But no, here I am, standing in front of a large, two story wooden cabin surrounded by tree’s and flower bushes. According to Marco, this place belongs to his grandparents.

“Come on, Quite staring and grab a bag or two so we can go inside, and you can meet the rest of the family.” Marco rests a hand on my shoulder, before heading towards the pile of luggage his parents were creating. Marco himself grabbed his own suitcase, and one of the kids backpacks. So  I grabbed one of the kids small bags, my backpack, and my duffle bag. His parents, and the kids, grab whats left, and together we go inside..

The inside is neat.. Nice, dark wooden floor boards. Old styled furniture. Paintings and pictures of several family members of all ages cover the walls. The first place you enter is the living room. Its a large, family area with A long brown couch, two arm chairs, another but smaller brown couch, and a round glass dining table that has four kitchen chairs at it. There’s carpet in that room, dark grey. In fact, from what I can see, the Majority of the house is grey’s, browns, and greens. Natural colors, I guess.. To the right of us, I can just barely see the begging’s of a kitchen, with grey tiled floors. Directly in front of us is a winding, wooden staircase. Holy shit, yes. Winding staircases are so fucking cool, they remind me of fairy tales. I dont know why, they just seem cooler I guess.

“Hello? Mom!?” Marco’s dad calls out in the house. There were other cars outside, I think.. so people should be home.. but I sort of hope they aren’t.. I am just now remembering how nervous I was about meeting Marco’s family. I still am nervous. What if they don’t like me? What if I screw something up? What if I do something embarrassing in front of them all? Oh god..

“Upstairs!” A more rugged women voice calls out in response to her son. My first instinct is to grip onto Marco’s arm, like a small child hiding behind their mother. He smiles down at gently, and just that little smile eases my nerves a bit, and light a fire under my heart. I want to see that smile more, I want to see it tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, and the next day, and the next. I want to be able to see that smile for as long as possible..

“Come on..” We’re lead up the stairs by Mr.Bodt, and follow at the end of the line, close behind the twins.

“There you all are! Good to see yah!” At the top of the stairs Marcus is being engulfed in a bone crushing hug by an elderly women, no younger then her early sixties, who I assume is his mother. She wears a baggy, red sweater, and black pants. At the same time, Mrs. Bodt is getting a much gentler hug from an oder man with thinning grey hair, maybe seventy years old, wearing a green sweater and blue jeans. Behind them, in the hallway is a man and women linking arms. The women could easily be related to either of Marco’s parents.  Big brown eyes, thin, but strong looking, and shoulder length, dark brown hair with one little braided strand of to the right. She wears a simply, dark red dress with white heels and accessory’s. The man with her is obviously not related. Blue eyes, short black hair, pale skin, squared shoulders, average height. His ensemble consists of black pants, and a green long sleeve shirt. Next to the couple, is probably their daughter. Her hair is black, like her fathers, but styled just like her mothers, her eyes are the signature Bodt brown, and her skin is a light tan to. She dress is just like her mothers, only she has a little white bow around her waist, and a snowflake necklace, and flats instead of heels, of course. She could be no older then six or seven, so in the same age range as the twins. She’s honestly adorable, she looks at her family shyly, as though she is still unsure about them. One thin everyone in this room has in common, other then me, and the black haired man, is a copious amount of freckles. Must be a Bodt thing.

“Oh, look at you two, you get bigger and bigger every time I see you.. and Marco! My boy, who said you could get taller then me.. Oh? Who is this handsome boy you brought along with you?” The old women, obviously Marco’s grandmother hugs Mason and Myra, and then brings her affection to Marco, until she spots me, and begins to jokingly tease him. She knows very well who I am, apparently Marco’s parents told the entire family about me in great detail, that does not make me feel any better, it just makes me feel more embarrassed. The attention in the room all shifted to me, the outsider, and I can feel my face burning.

“This is my boyfriend, Jean. Jean, this is my Grandma Melissa, my Grandfather Matthew. My aunt Marina, my uncle Devon, and my cousin Melody.” Marco gives me the names of the other family members. Honestly, I thought there would be more, I don’t know why, I was just expecting the Bodt family to be a big one.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Jean. We’ve all heard allot about you. I hope you enjoy spending the holiday with us.” The woman greets me, not with a normal handshake, but with a hug. My face burns even worse, probably making me look like a lobster, and I gently hugging back.

“I.. Uh.. It’s n-nice to meet you to. I am sure I will enjoy it to..” I stutter out, trying my best to smile as she moves away from me. Marco giggles, he fucking giggles. He’s laughing at me. How rude.

“Nice to meet you, My Boy.” I am greeting next by Matthew, and receive a gentle pat of the shoulder. Then its a handshake, and friendly smiles from aunt, uncle and cousin while I awkwardly try to up hold communication, without my face burning hotter then the sun that is. They ask all sorts of questions, and I do my best to answer. They all get a good laugh out of my nervousness, for the next five or so minutes, and then Marco shows me down the hall, as the others go set up dinner.

“You know, you’re pretty cool. Laughing at my awkward introductions.” I nudge my freckled boyfriend in the side as we walk down the hall together, side by side, passing white door, after white door. The very last door in the hallway, turns out to be ours. Four doors in total, I count. One behind us, on the other set of the stairs, and three on this side of the stairs.

“Awe, but it was so cute. You look like a little strawberry.” He has to put an emphasis on this, by poking out my cheek. I respond by pouting, and looking away, but that part is mostly because I can feel the tips of my ears turning red, and I don’t need him giggling at me again.

“Mean-y..” I whine, only to hear him chuckle again, and open the door to our right.

“Okay. This one’s are room. The room across is the twins, and Melody’s, then the one to the left of us us the bathroom, the other bedroom is an upstairs Masters, it has its own bathroom. They’re are two more bedrooms downstairs, and two more bathrooms. Hey.. Wait a minute? This room had two single be- Oh my god, they pushed them together.” Marco steps into the room, and I follow behind him. He examines the bed, only to find the queen sized bed is actually the two single sized beds shoved together. Now its my turn to laugh as his face heats up.

“My god, my family is embarrassing..” He mutters, covering his face with his hands, laughing a bit to himself. I see an oprotunity, and take it. Wrapping my arms around his waist, and kissing his shoulder, since it’s the closest thing to me.

“Hey, I am not complaining, If they hadn’t done it, I would have done it on my own.” I joke around a bit, hoping it will make him feel a bit better, it does, but it also embarrasses him more.

“Oh my god! Jean!” Oh, sweet, sweet revenge.

* * *

Everything I was told about the family’s cooking, was true. The beef jerky and all. They’re also currently making homemade hot chocolate. Not from a packet, real, home made, from scratch. Every single thing I ate, and believe me, I tried everything, was as good as rumored. It all easily goes under the category of best things I have ever eaten in my life. Those tamale’s were to die for, and I had eggnog before to night, and I never want it again unless its made by Grandpa Matthew.  Dear god, I am so full, I don’t have to eat again for five years, I am that full. But is that gonna stop me from the cookies that are baking or the hot co-co? No, no it’s not. When I asked Marco if he knew how to make all this stuff, and he actually, and seriously said yes, and I stared at him for a good five minutes, thanking the all mighty universe. I don’t care what I eat for the rest of my life, it will all be bland compared to the foods I just ate. That’s how damn good it was.

* * *

“Come on now, Time to open presents. Kids first.” The presents are passed out to the twins, and to melody. We watch for a good twenty, to thirty minutes as they open up their individual gifts. I got Myra a harmonica, because according to Marco, she wanted one, and she looked extremely excited to receive it. For Mason, I got him a tub of legos, a huge one. He seems pretty pleased with it, that is, if ‘Aww yes! Legos!’ means anything, though everyone loves legos, if you were to give me legos, I would have the same reaction, I am serious. For Melody, I got her a small, plush, blue dragon with green wings and spikes. I was told ahead of time, who would be here, and to get presents for, and I was given a Christmas list from each person. Melody said she wanted a dragon. So I got her a dragon. She seems to like him, as she hugged him close to her chest, and smiled at me, whispering a soft ‘thank you’. Marco told me I did not have to get people presents, that I could just put my name on his presents, so it would be from both of us, but I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to get people things. I wanted to thank them for allowing me to participate in their family holiday.

Then it was Marco and I’s turn to receive presents. We receive mostly gift card’s, and I received a card, sort of like a business card, with a smiley face on it, and ‘Official, honorary Bodt’ on it from Marco’s parents, however, it was signed by all the adults. The only thing I could do in response was make a choked ‘Thank you’ sound, blush, and hide my face in Marco’s shoulder. While he awkwardly chuckles, probably blushing himself. There’s only two presents left now, one for Marco, one For me, from each other. The only reason I got that card from Marco’s parents, was because they know what I got Marco. Those cheeky bastards.

“Open yours first.” Marco tells me, a soft smile on his face. He places a small, rectangular red wrapped box on my lap. While the present I have for him, sits besides me, waiting for him to open it.

“Okay..” I pause before slowly unwrapping the present, and opening the box beyond the paper. There’s a brown, braided leather bracelet, along with a folded piece of paper. I take a quick deep breath, before picking up the letter, and unfolding it so I can read it. By the burning feeling of Marco’s eyes watching me, I can tell this letter is going to kill me.

_**Dear Jean,** _

__

_**Merry Christmas. Thank you so much for spending the holiday’s with me, It means allot. I wasn’t quite sure what to get you, as I wanted it to be something important, as this is are first Christmas together, and hopefully not our last. Eventually, I decided I ought to make you something, so this happened. I really hope you like it, It actually took me three tries to get it right.. I know it’s not much, it’s simple, but you seem to like simple things.. I just wanted you to know I care about you.. and that I put allot of thought and care into trying to show it..** _

I slowly fold the letter up, and bite my lip, before picking up my own present, and shoving it towards Marco, looking anywhere but at him. I know I am blushing, there’s no way that I am not. Look at that letter, it’s so sappy and cute, my god, I just want to kiss him.

I hold my breath a bit, as he unwraps my own present, silently, and I try not to look. I can hear the slightest trace of a gasp, when his eyes meet the silver promise ring thats tied to a black string, in the form of a necklace. He’s not the only one who put allot of thought into what to get the other, you know? While the entire room sits in silence, all eyes towards Marco, I take the chance to slip on the bracelet. The leather is soft against my skin, and fits me well. I stare at it, as it makes my wrist it’s new home, and nothing on earth could stop the happy feeling that bubbles up in my chest. Apparently, I am not sly enough, because Marco spots me. He grips my chin gently between his thumb, and finger, and tilts my head towards him. He’s got tears welt up in his eyes, and that ridiculously happy, dorkish grin on his lips. Mine may have not come with a sappy letter, and it wasn’t hand made, but it looks like I still did something right.

“Merry Christmas, Jean.” Is the only thing he manages to say to me, before gently pressing his lips over mine.. Yeah.. Merry Christmas..

“How sweet..” His aunt, and mother chime at the same time, and I chuckle a bit, pulling away from Marco awkwardly. The adults begin to receive their presents, as I sit besides Marco, both of us in equally awkward states of mind.

“I am going to get some hot coco, Do you want any, Jean?” Marco asks, practically out of no where. The way his dark brown eyes gaze into mine, I have a feeling he plans to get a lot more then hot chocolate in the kitchen.

“Sure.” I mutter quietly, standing up, and following after him. No one notices us leave, or they do, but don’t care to say anything, as they go about their chatting, and unwrapping.

“Come here...” The second we are in side the kitchen, out of view and out of ear of the others that are in the living room, he has me pulled close to him, and is passionately kissing me, his teeth accidently clashing with mine a bit, but it’s not like I care. I secure my arms around his neck, where I notice he has tied the promise ring around him, and kiss back with as much passion as he’s giving me.

“Thank you, Jean.. I love it..” He whispers, ending the kiss by pulling away, and turning it into a warm embrace, placing his head over my own, while I burry my face into his chest.

“I like the bracelet.. I really do..” I respond with my own praise.

We stay like that for another minute or so, just holding each other, no talking, nothing, just embracing each other, before we actually poured ourselves some hot chocolate, and returned to the others, joining in the conversations and jokes, and the playful little games. Its not till I am sitting back down on the small couch, curled up in Marco’s side, sipping on the most delicious drink I have ever had in my life, and replaying all this in my mind, his letter, the leather that wraps around my wrist, the present I gave to him, the way he looked at me afterwards, and the kisses that follow, it’s not till I think of all of this, that I think to my self;

_....I love this boy.._

 


	8. I said it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its time to celebrate new years! And its time for Jean to say the words..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter! I repeat! Last chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you enjoyed this story! Remember, with the fall of a few stories, comes the rise of another! I do infact have a new story that will be coming out in another month or so, and of course, It's a JeanMarco fic, like always.

“Hey. You guys are coming over tonight right?” I groan and sit up in bed, the second I hear his voice. Jesus fucking christ, I love him, I do, but Reiner, why the fuck are you calling me at three AM to discuss the damn party?

“Yes Reiner. We are still going.” My jaw stretches into a yawn as I speak quietly, trying not to wake up the sleeping Marco that’s currently at my side.

“Okay. Cool.  Cool. Do you know if your gonna bring anything? Do you guys need  ride here, or one back? You are staying the full time right? Should I get one gest room for you guys or two? Probably two, huh?” Reiner begins shooting out question after question, and I can hear the slightest trace of panic, of unease, in his voice.

“Reiner? Dude, are you okay? What happened that’s got you worrying about the party at three in the morning?” He’s silent for a moment, and then I hear him sigh, letting me know that I was right, there is something up with him.

“It’s nothing.. Just... Just a nightmare, you know? I am.. I was a little scared to go back asleep, so I’ve been trying to keep myself distracted with the party.. Sorry for waking you up, Man.” He explains, and apologizes. I yawn again, and rub the back of my neck, taking a slight glance to Marco, who has rolled far away from me.

“It’s alright, Dude. Where’s Bertholdt?” If there’s one thing I know, It’s that Berholdt is to Reiner, what Marco is to me. He’s the anchor. The calm mind in the center of the storm. The one thing to tie him down, and making him force reality.

“He’s at work. Night shift today. He should be home in about half an hour though.” There we go, that explains it. If Bertholdt was there, Reiner would just go to him to calm down, Just crawl back and bed, and cling to his lover, and that would conquer his fear. Without the other boy there, however, Reiner has little to no source of comfort.

“Then how about you give him something to come home to, yeah? Get out something for him to drink, maybe a light snack, since he’s probably hungry, and have the bed all nice and ready for him to crash in with you. Im sure he’d love to go home to that. That’l give you something to distract yourself, and something to look forward to. What do you say?” I make my suggestion. I know Bert likes sweet, sentimental, little gestures like that. Im sure it will help, or at least, I hope it will.

“Yeah.. Yeah.. That sounds nice.. I’ll do that. Thanks, Jean, and I am sorry for waking you up. Good night, see you at the party, Yeah?” He accepts the idea.

“Yeah. Good Night, Reiner.” I say goodbye to my friend for the meantime, and he hangs up the phone.  I all but throw down the device, and dive back into the bed as quickly as possible, My body quickly finding Marco's and making use of it as a pillow.

* * *

**  
  
**

“Jean, Come on, Wake up, we‘ve got to get packing.” Marco’s sweet voice whispers close to my ear, his hand firmly shaking my shoulder in attempt to wake me.

“No. Fuck That.” I grumble angrily, making hi, chuckle, and continue to pester me.

“Ugh. Okay. Ten more minutes.” I whine, nuzzling closer to him, my head sinking into his neck, leaving little kisses at his skin there.

“No. How about five minutes? Then we need to get up.” I sigh, and Yawn a little dramatically, nuzzling even closer to him, my hot morning breath hitting hard against his neck.

“Fucking fine. Five minutes, but you better make it a good damn five minutes.” I am not a morning person, can’t you tell? I want more then five minutes in bed, and I could probably get them easily with a little.. _sexual persuasion_ , however, that would require effort, and it’s far to early for that shit.

“Wow. Giving up that easily? You must be in a good mood.” He laughs a bit, pressing his lips to my ash blond hair, and holding me tighter against his body. I respond by curling into him more.

“I could have gone for more minutes, but it’s not worth the effort.” I snicker.

“And how did you think you’d get more minutes out of me? I am pretty stubborn if I need to be, you know.” Is that a fucking challenge, Bodt?

“I was gonna straddle you.”

“I am not that weak Jean, It’d take more then you straddling me to get extra bed time.” He mocks being hurt, and I scoff. Marco so would give in for a good straddling.

“But it would buy me time. If I straddled you, Marco, we both know, you’d wait to see if I was gonna do anything, and that’d buy me a pretty good amount of time.” I counter and he snorts, his hand moving down my side, to rest at my waist. The feeling sends tingles down my spine.

“Yeah right. I’d see right through that, and you know it.” That’s a fucking challenge. Oh he is so going down. I kick the blankets up, and swing over, positioning myself directly on his hips, a leg on either side of his body, and my hands on his chest. He waits for nothing, and his hands are instantly gripping my hips.

“S’not going to work Jean. And your five minutes is up, Time to get ready.” I clack my tongue against the roof of my mouth, and grind my hips down on his in protest. His eyes bulge out of his head, and his grip on my waist tightens, keeping my still.  

“Nope. Not today. Sorry, but we’ve got a new years party to attended tonight, remember? We can’t be late, or we’ll never hear the end of it.” He sighs, frowning at the pouty face I give him at the mention of this. Dammit.. I don’t want to..

“Come on, Jean.. Let’s get ready...” He whispers, hot breath against my skin, and then he lightly places our lips together in a sweet kiss. It feels almost like an apology for rejecting my actions.

**  
  
**

* * *

“Your late, You ass-hats.” Reiner scolds Marco and I, the second we walk through his door. I sigh, and shake my head with a silent yawn. Yes,  I am still tired. I slept on the ride home. I’ve been sleeping until Marco woke me up five minutes ago to get out of the car. Do you even know how many hours of sleep that is? Whatever it is, it’s great. This is what having a zero period in highschool does to you, even an extra hour of sleep is a blessing. I am still tired though. I think I’ll always be tired, and I will blame it on the fact that I have lost numerous hours of sleep because of school.

“At least were fucking here at all.  If I had it my fuckn way,  I’d be at home, fucking sleeping right now.” I groan, pushing past Reiner, and heading straight for his kitchen, why? Because I know this muscled beast, and I know damn well he’s got a fridge packed with energy drinks and Alcohol. Behind me, I hear both Marco, and Reiner chuckle, both knowing damn well what my intention are. When I get into the kitchen, and pull open the white double door fridge, I am beyond right. Reiner’s got three types of energy drinks, ten two litter bottles of soda, and more bottles of Bose then I can count. How it all fits in this fridge? I don’t know. Were he keeps his foods? I don’t know.  I don’t think twice about yanking a random energy drink out, popping it open, and chugging a good quarter of it down.

“So, Where’s Bertholdt, and the others?” Marco makes small talk with Reiner, glancing around the living room and kitchen, only to see there’s only the three of us.

“Everyone’s in the fucking backyard, half way fucking wasted and burning the fuck out of my bon fire pit.” Reiner nods to the door behind me in the kitchen, the one that leads to his back yard, meaning we should step out and join the others.  I nod my head, closing the fridge, and heading to the back yard, Marco right on my heels.

Reiner has a nice backyard, swimming pool, hot tub, grass are, picnic table, and a bon fire for us all to sit around. When we step outside, the first thing I see is Sasha and Conne at the bonfire, arguing over smores. Ymir and Krista making out in the grass. Eren, Armin and Mikasa are all sitting at the picnic table, Eren shouting, talking dramatically, tossing his hands and arms everywhere in the air as he talks.  Armin’s got his head down against the wooden table, and Mikasa isn’t really paying attention to Eren, But taking small sips of her drink as she glances across the yard. I follow Mikasa’s line of sight to Annie and Bertholdt, who sit peacefully by the pool, chatting away. The three of us re-entering the backyard doesn’t do anything much. I mean, no one stops, or bothers to acknowledge us. They all glance in our direction, knowing we are there, but they don’t seem to care. Eren flips me off, but doesn’t stop his expressive rant. That’s really the only thing we get. Reiner goes back to Annie and Berholdt, sitting down next to his boyfriend, and dropping an arm around the boy. You know? Sometimes, I forget Ymir and Marco are related, since their personalities are so different, in fact, Ymir is different from all the Bodts I’ve met. Though Marco says she’s from a different side of the family, one they don’t typically get along with, Ymir being the exception.

“Alright. What wasted ass group do you wanna join? You wanna see if we can get your cousin to stop sucking face with her girlfriend? Should we join Connie and Sash and risk being assaulted with marshmallows? See what Eren’s ranting about? or see if We can get Annie to come talk to Mikasa?” I look at Marco, watching the smile on his lips as he looks around at all are drunk-as-skunk friends. Marco’s smile is something I don’t think I’ll ever get over, or something I’ll ever stop wanting to see.

“As much as I love them all, what do you think about making our own little group in the grass, away from those two though.” He glance at his cousin, and then back at me, smiling happily. His suggestion, and the way he looks at me when he says it, makes my heart pound and my eyes light up.

“Sounds good to me..” I follow him, my hand locked in his as we make our way to an area of grass, far enough from Ymir and Krista’s love fest, and sit down. He sits down first, spreading his legs for me to settle in between them, my back against his chest, and my head against his shoulder. He nuzzles his face in my hair, then proceeds by pressing a small kiss to the base of my neck, finally resting his head there on my shoulder.

“What time is it?” He whispers quietly to me, his voice is soft, afraid to break the peace. I think back to the last time I saw, and try to add up the time passed since then.

“10:40 I imagine. Im sure Reiner, or someone will announce the count down, We have time..” Time to do what exactly, I am not sure. I think I am speaking more for myself. Telling myself I have more time to prepare myself, to find the courage to tell him..

“Alright..” It’s silent for another couple of seconds, both of staring off into space, but I don’t think either of us are actually looking at the stars.

“It’s weird to think about it.. How we met..” He thinks out loud, his eyes not moving away from the blank space in front of our eyes, that seems to be playing the moment we met, and every moment after.

“Yeah.. Not exactly how you imagine meeting your future boyfriend for the first time, huh? Coming back to school after two weeks leave, and being forced to do an important, worth-half-your-grade-project for the next two weeks.” I chuckle in response. Not exactly how you would want to go back to school right? Only to start a major semester project. I remember how the second Hanji said ‘Partners’,  everyone split, and completely ignored me, leaving me alone with Marco..

“Hah.. Yeah.. What were you on leave for again? The stomach flew right? How’d that happen?” It sounds rather odd to me, that I never actually explained that little incident to Marco, but I know it’s true, we never talked about it.

“Food Poisoning. Connie and  Sasha set me up on some stupid blind date. Dude I met up with took me out to eat at some weird buffet place. I don’t know what the hell those people did to their food, but man did they fuck up my stomach. That place actually got so many reports of food poisoning, that they shut it down.”  He snickers against my skin, and give my neck a few little kisses.

“Oh you poor, Baby.” He mocks me. I tug my face into a scowl, and huff.

“Whatever. It was totally worth it though. I mean, I didn’t expect to come back to school, start a major health project, be ignored by all my friends and pushed into partnership with the cute new freckled kid, but yah know.” I shrug my shoulders to the end, making him laugh a bit.

“You know why they all did that?” He ask suddenly, and I shake my head.  I knew they did it, but I don’t know why they decided to be butt holes and ditch me. One would think If you didn’t see your friend for two fucking weeks, you’d want to hang out with them more, but no.

“While you were gone, well, you know, before I met you, I kept hearing about you, but I had no idea who you were. One day I asked, Connie told me, and showed me a picture of you. I made the horrible idea of whispering that you were hot.. So everyone’s immediate reaction was ‘You want that? I can get that for you? Operation Marco and Jean need to get together commence!’and yeah, that’s what happened..” Marco’s intimidation makes me laugh. He does this weird high pitched voice in order to impersonate whoever it is that is suppose to be.

“Oh my god. Seriously? All this because you thought I was hot?” I continue to laugh at him.

“And I still think you’re hot.” He breaths into my ear, lightly nibbling at the my earlobe. I shudder, and release an odd laugh.

“Worth it then?” He nods against my neck, and sighs happily.

“Yeah. Worth It.”  Somewhere in the distance, fireworks begin to set off, filling the sky with bright, and colorful explosions, and sweet memories of our time together.

“You know, I don’t think I’ll ever really like the idea of children.” I chuckle, fondly thinking of our baby doll project that brought us together.  We weren’t the best of parents, often forgetting our baby. Though that project did make me consider children in a lot more serious light.

“Thought you said it made you really think twice about having kids?” He laughs at me. I don’t even care that he’s laughing at my expense, I just love that he’s laughing. His laugh is so beautiful, so Angelic..

“Yeah. Made me double think, and be positive that I probably shouldn’t have them. Marco, do you know how many times we left that thing in the car?” His laughter continues, and I am practically rolling in it. I love it. It makes me smile. I don’t think Marco’s laugh could ever have any other affect on me, other then the pure happiness I get from it.

“Very true. Very true.” He nods his head, his shaggy brow hair tickling my neck as he does so. Silence. Again. It’s not uncomfortable, it’s actually rather nice, and comforting, in a strange way. The fire works continue, and I feel like each display represents a memory of the past. Marco entering my house for the first time. Meeting my dogs. Me meeting his parents, and his sibbling’s. The argument over the bed our first night together. Our first kiss. Christmas. So many beautiful, fond memories.

“Hey Jean? You know that lame tradition about the new years kiss, right? Where if a couple kisses at midnight on new years, they are like guaranteed to be together to do it again the next year.. Do you uh, Maybe, want to do that?” My heart skips a beat, runs a marathon, and jumps over backwards, because _Dear God_ ,  Marco wants me around. He wants me for the next year, and maybe even the years after that, and My gosh, that sounds amazing to me.

“Yeah. Yeah.. Let’s do that..” Half way through my sentence, Reiner begins the count down in the background.

_“Ten!”_

_“Nine!”_

Marco shifts his body, so I can see his face better, and he looks me in the eye. It’s the most loving look I have ever seen in my life. It’s so sweet, and passionate. He’s looking at me right now, like I am everything in the world to him.. and I am probably looking at him in the same way, because he really his my everything..

_“Eight!”_

_“Seven!”_

I feel like I have a million words to tell him, and only six more seconds to say it. But what do I say? The only thing I can say..

_“Six.”_

“Hey Marco?”

“Yes Jean?”

_“Five.”_

“I love you.”

The look in Marco‘s eyes, the way he smiles, when I say those three simple words, he looks so happy, so relieved, and I feel like the fire works have moved from the night sky, to my heart, and my gut. Marco‘s been waiting for me to say those words for a long time, and I finally said them. I love him. _I fucking love him,_ and he _knows_ it.

“Jean?”

_“Four”_

“Yeah?”

_“Three”_

“There’s this project called Life, wanna be my partner?”

In some twisted, and utterly cheesy way, I know this is his way of saying ‘I love you too‘, and even though it‘s not straight forward, I don‘t think I would have wanted him to say it any other way.

_“Two”_

“Partners.”

I agree.

This might be the one project I fail. But god Damn, If I am gonna fail it with anyone, It’s gotta be this boy.

_“One”_

There’s cheering. There’s fireworks. There’s kissing. Just like that, with a passionate touch of lips, we seal our next year together, because _I love him..._

I love him, and _he knows it_ , because I told him.I love him. I love him. I love him. _I love you, Marco Bodt._ I am so sorry it took so long, but I finally said _those words_ , those three words, and it is so worth it, because, _I love you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was in fact the last chapter. The end! I hope you guys liked it, and the story as a whole. Sorry there wasn't much interaction with the others here, but I really wanted this to be them, alone. So, again, I hope you like it. Remember, I will have a new JeanMarco story out in another month or so.

**Author's Note:**

> Lots of time skips. Hope you liked it so far, dont be afraid to comment!


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